Current Events:

The State of Pre-Engineering Education

by Celeste Baine
Director, Engineering Education Service Center

Over the last three weeks I traveled to the New England and New York area to visit and give presentations on engineering careers at many colleges and high schools. From Manhattan to Newark to Boston to Canton, the resounding challenge was the same…how do we get more students into the engineering field and how do we attract more girls.

The small numbers in engineering are considered a national crisis. Currently, we are #4 behind China, India and Japan in the number of engineering students we graduate. A 2004 report from the U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics said that more than half of U.S. students are not taking any science in their senior year of high school. The Education Department's report was based on transcripts of more than 20,000 graduating high school seniors from 277 public and private high schools.

Most engineering schools are trying to address the problem of attracting students by increasing the degrees offered. Many have started programs in biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, sustainable engineering and other hot areas that are of interest to students. Some schools have engineering dorms or international programs for engineers. Some have engineering sororities and some offer a large variety of scholarships. Some schools don't allow students to select a major until their sophomore or junior year and some schools are adding design courses for freshmen. Colleges are adding summer camps for high school students and competitions for undergraduates. There are Women in Engineering as well as Minorities in Engineering programs designed to offer a support structure and keep students in school. Co-op programs and internships are popular with students that want to work in the summer or through school. Some schools require a co-op experience or a semester of work experience. Colleges have become very creative in their quest to attract students. But still, it's not enough.

Many high schools have also jumped into the action by offering introduction to engineering courses. Competitions such as TEAMS, the FIRST LEGO League, Rube Goldberg, Bridge Building Competitions, and Future City have also become very popular with high schools as a way to stimulate interest in engineering. Project Lead the Way is producing extensive pre-engineering curriculum modules that are designed to get students on the fast track. PCS Edventures produces the Academy of Engineering LEGO laboratory as a fun way to get kids interested in engineering. Almost every college and engineering society has a pre-college division that is producing materials to educate students about engineering. But still, it's not enough.

Unfortunately, there is no magic equation or formula for success. In my travels, the resounding fear or discouragement with students and teachers was that math is the gatekeeper. In addition, students can't be adequately prepared to pursue engineering in a global economy if science isn't required all 4 years of high school. As a society, we need to accept math and science as friendly adversaries and be vigilant about maintaining the friendships. We need to see math and science as tools to understanding the world and solving problems. Only when our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends and relatives accept this concept will we, as a society, begin to move forward and graduate more Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students. Only then will our struggle to take our rightful place as the #1 producer of engineers ease. Only then will we win the battle of giving students a career that will allow them unlimited opportunity to change the world.